Family
by audreyslove
Summary: A collection of fics involving the baby peanut.
1. Chapter 1

She cries a lot.

She cries a lot, she seems to be hungry and eat quite a bit, she sleeps in between crying and eating, and it seems to Roland that that's all she does.

He was excited to be a big brother, had planned to show his younger sister his favorite parts of the forest, teach her how to make a proper fort, he planned to show her the best flavors of ice cream, the wonder that was peanut butter, the secret handshake he had learned through Henry, he planned to show her how to properly pet Pongo so he whimpered and wagged his tail just so, he would teach her jokes and make her laugh….and an assortment of other wonders.

He had plans for his sister.

But when Eliza was born Regina and daddy had told him the baby could not have peanut butter or ice cream. She refused to learn the secret handshake because Regina had told him that his sister hadn't figured out how to use her arms yet.

He wasn't allowed to take her for a walk of the forest because she could not yet walk and Roland could not yet carry her. His father promised he would escort her when she was older and could be out in the cold for a longer amount of time. But she couldn't do that yet.

Eliza couldn't do anything except cry, it seemed. And no one liked her crying.

What frustrated him the most, however, was that his sister could not laugh. He was funny – he was sure of that. Henry always laughed when he told his jokes, Henry laughed when he did his "jelly" walk, the walk where he bent his legs just so, leaned his back as far as he could, his arms moving fluidly around as he giggled and said he had no bones.

But his jelly walk did not make Eliza laugh, or even smile. Regina explained that Eliza couldn't yet do either. She would laugh in time, Regina promised. But not yet.

But when his daddy was burping Eliza one day Roland saw his baby sister, eyes shut, with a smile on her face.

"Papa I thought you said Eliza can't smile yet!" he cried, staring at her smile. "She's smiling now, what is she smiling at? Why doesn't she ever smile at me?"

But his papa laughed at him. _Laughed!_ "Roland, your sister won't smile for us for quite some time. Right now she is just making faces. You need to wait until she's older for her to really smile."

But Roland had already put a hand on his sister's head an unfortunate, successful attempt to wake her, so he could make her smile himself, or maybe she could laugh now? Roland made silly faces at her, faces that should at least make her smile if not laugh.

"ROLAND!" his papa yells at him.

Roland woke her from a near-sleep, and she's crying. Crying again. And it's hard not to feel bad, when all he wanted to do is make her smile.

"Eliza is bad! She doesn't like us!" He declared. He stomped away from the kitchen table into the living and kicked angrily at the couch, and _ow_! That hurt his foot. Papa is yelling at him to get back there right now, and he is going to be in trouble, and Roland doesn't even care. He fights back the tears, his sister cries enough for the entire household. No need to add to it.

But Regina is there, he didn't even see her coming, but she's bent down so that his eyes are level with hers, and she's put a hand on his back, and her fingers move in a nice pattern across is back, and he feels the anger dripping out of him just slightly.

"Roland" she says, and her voice sounds comforting. Regina usually talks in a voice to him that usually makes him feel warm and a bit relaxed, like late spring in the forest, when the sun was vibrant but not yet overbearing, when he could just sit in the sun and soak up balmy goodness around him.

He fights it, this time, Regina's secret magical power to calm him down.

"She HATES me!" he says again, tears threatening to leave his face.

"No Roland, she is just tired and angry."

"I saw her smile. She knows how!" Roland won't look at Regina. He'd rather look at the floor. "She doesn't smile at me."

"She doesn't smile at any of us, yet" Regina says, but no, this is no better. Eliza should be smiling and happy, the way babies are in books. He frowns, concerned at this.

Regina's not angry, he isn't being punished for being bad and yelling and it somewhat surprises him. "Roland, Eliza is still learning how to move those muscles in her face. This smile is like an exercise of the face muscles. Imagine if you had a third arm and you had to learn how to use it. You might not always move it where you wanted to go, and it might upset you quite a bit. Everything on her body is like that. She is learning how to move all those muscles every day. You know how her arms are always waving, and you ask why she hit herself, and papa told you she can't control her arms yet?"

Roland remembered. Eliza couldn't even stop from hurting herself. He nodded slightly.

"Well she doesn't hit herself on purpose, she's just trying to learn. And sometimes she gets very tired or frustrated and she cries."

"She is ALWAYS crying." Roland corrected, and Regina laughs at that, and she's pulling him into a hug and it's nice, like something heavy in his chest is lifted.

"She cries a lot" Regina agreed. "But soon she will learn how to use her eyes, how to use her neck muscles, how to use her arms…,soon she will be able to look at you, and see how wonderful you are. And then she will smile. And when she does, it will be much better and brighter than that silly face she made in her sleep. Ok?"

"She can't do _anything._ " True, his baby sister came out much earlier than he expected, but she was hear now, had been here for seven weeks, and she hadn't done anything.

"Soon she will do so much" Regina says. "Some of it you won't like. She will steal your toys, she may accidentally break your video games, she will follow you around when you are with your friends, or with Henry. She'll do so much you won't know what to do with her. I promise. But now just keep on talking to your sister, she'll learn a lot in due time."

"Will she love me?" he asks timidly, unsure of the answer. He knows there's something different about his sister, and he isn't quite sure.

"Roland, she already loves you very much. She just can't show it, yet. But she will learn. You," and she touches his nose with her finger the way Regina does, because it never fails to make him smile and laugh "are impossible not to love."

"Do _you_ love me?" It's almost asked in a whisper. He had felt a bit ignored since the baby came, and Regina was so busy helping everyone else with grownup, secret things and helping papa understand how to take care of Eliza.

And now Regina had said "I love you" to papa, and he knew she loved Henry. But she hadn't told Roland she loved him. Not yet.

He looked up at Regina just then, and realized he did a bad thing, he made Regina cry. "Regina I'm sorry!" he almost screams, wishing he could take back his question, watching the tears fall down. "Please don't cry I'm sorry!"

Regina was shaking her head, holding him close and picking him up. He was big now, too big to be held as he'd informed his papa and Regina many times, but since Eliza was born and she was held all the time…he missed being held. He wrapped his arms around her neck and legs clung tightly around her waist. "Roland, no need to apologize, you didn't do anything wrong" she whispered. "I just, I love you so, so much. I'm sorry you even had to ask."

"Do you love Eliza?" he asked into her shoulder, hugging her back, finally releasing tears he kept in in soft, wet sobs. He wanted so badly for Eliza to be happy and good, to love everyone so they could love her back. Because he heard things one day, things at a diner his papa told him not to repeat to anyone, especially to Regina. Things about how the baby was bad, and that it made Regina sad and hurt her because it wasn't her baby. But he wasn't Regina's baby either.

He thought maybe if he could get the baby to stop crying she would love him and the baby too.

There's something wrong with that question he just asked, though, it makes his papa nervous, has his papa up and almost running from the kitchen into the living room where they are. Roland could hear him saying something but he was sniffling too loud into Regina's shoulder, and his father sounded far away as he said something like _Let me take him for a bit, I'm sorry, Regina._

But Regina only held Roland tighter and she _shh_ -ed his small sobs soothingly.

"Yes" she croaked "Yes, Roland, I love your sister very much. I couldn't love her anymore."

"You wouldn't even love her more if she laughed instead of cried?" he asked, and Regina was laughing

"No" she said, "I'd love her the same amount no matter how often she cried or how little she laughed."

"Me too" Roland said, and he decided it was true.

It's two weeks later and Roland is telling his baby sister all about his day at school, his sister looking at him, her eyes look different, more focused…and as he tells her how his best friend spilled milk out of his nose when he sneezed, and reenacts it just so, he sees the look on her face.

A smile. A smile with her eyes open and looking at him. A smile that stays on her face for a bit, a smile that turns into two smiles, and then three.

Eliza cries all night that night, but Roland doesn't seem to mind as much.


	2. Robin

When Robin discovered he was to have a little girl, he was more than a little nervous.

He had lived in a forest with a camp full of men, very few women inbetween. Spare for Marian, he hadn't much interaction with women, and nearly none with little girls. He knew Marian would be able to raise a girl, that Marian could teach him, and that brought him some comfort. Still, he had been relieved when she gave birth to a baby boy. He was confident he would be a good father to a boy.

When he became the father to a beautiful baby girl, Marian wasn't there to show him what to do.

There were other fears that grew more pressing than her gender, however. He had worried so much about what his daughter would look like, if she would remind him of _her,_ if he would subconsciously hold what _she_ did against his precious daughter. Those thoughts, thankfully, had gone out the window the first time he looked at Eliza.

He was lucky he had Regina. At first he was determined not to accept her help, despite her commitment to him, despite her assurances that she wanted to help. He felt deeply guilty for burdening her with Eliza, and no matter how many times Regina insisted Eliza wasn't a burden, he still felt the deep, gnawing guilt every time he caught a flicker of what looked like sadness in Regina's eyes. He saw the hurt in her most often when Zelena mentioned her times with Robin – something she'd spit out in those early months with Eliza. She'd either do that, or remind everyone as her status as the birth mother and Regina's inability to ever hold the same title, and he'd watch as a flicker of hurt would go across Regina's eyes, always immediately replaced with concern for Robin, biting down her own feelings to help him with his, for he had been the most hurt in this situation, she said. And she had done so much for him, for Roland, in the wake of the nightmare Zelena had left them with, that Robin was determined not to ask her to do more.

But the last amount of guilt in asking for help had come the day Regina said she loved Eliza. He knew her, knew her heart, and when she had told Roland that yes, yes, she loved his sister, she loved her despite the sleepless nights, despite the ear-piercing cries, and his heart was warmed. From then on, he let himself think of the child as Regina's, and chased away the bad thoughts that she was pained or hurt by her presence, and focused on the happiness he saw in her when she cared for their little girl.

Early on in Eliza's life she did not take interest in traditionally female things. His daughter liked playing with Henry's old trucks and cars, had little interest in dolls. She liked the outdoors, liked the mud and the dirt of the forest. Robin had prepared himself to learn about tea parties and frilly dresses, but instead Eliza's interests and demeanor mimicked Roland's.

Regina wasn't surprised. She was a Mills girl, afterall, and Mills girls were not conformists. She was proud of her daughter, delighted in the fact that when she pretended to play princess, it was a princess who fought to defend her people from evil. Eliza was a little spitfire, completely unsurprising given who her parents were.

Eliza started first grade next Monday, and Robin couldn't believe how much she had grown. They were spending the day together, camping, fishing (though Eliza had little patience for fishing, it seemed) and learning a bit of archery (though Regina insisted she was far too young).

Eliza asked questions. She pointed to every plant she came across and asked her father "What's that?" and then, if he knew the name of the plant, she'd asked "What can you do with it?" She wanted to learn what she could eat, what was used to dress a wound, what could be used to buld a fire or break camp.

IN no time at all, she'd be more knowledgeable in the forest than his own merry men, Robin thought.

He was adjusting her stance while she held her bow when she asked a question he hadn't expected.

"Papa, why don't you like mommy?"

He scrunched his eyes. Oh god, not this question.

"Zelena?" He asked, but it was stupid, of course she meant Zelena. He wasn't going to get out of this by assuring her he loved Regina. His daughter already knew that.

Eliza nodded.

"Who told you I didn't like her?" He asked, curious and holding his breath. Zelena had made great strides in the past few years, and mostly at Regina's assistance they had agreed to let her into Eliza's life. When they introduced Eliza to Zelena two years ago, they anticipated all sorts of questions. Instead, when they told her that this was her mommy as well, and that this mommy had grown Eliza in her belly, Eliza had only asked "Like Emma with Henry?"

She was too little to understand the controversy. Her brother had two mothers, why shouldn't she?

It figures that the second she had a hard question about the relationship Regina wouldn't be around.

"No one said so I just know it. Whenever she comes to pick me up you always leave," Eliza said, still focusing on a target, and taking aim. She released the arrow with a pop, and it landed in the dirt. Not enough strength or focus in that one, Robin thought. "And I asked her to come take me to my first day of school, but she asked if you would be there and I said yes, and then she said she couldn't go."

Robin gritted his teeth. He never truly had forgiven Zelena, but he had to admit she tried. She was full of the same self-loathing Regina had been, and he wished, deep down, he could forget the pain she had caused and learn to trust or at least tolerate her. She was trying, afterall, and she did go to great efforts to make sure he was as comfortable as possible now that she was in Eliza's life. Still, Zelena reminded him of a very dark time in his life, a time when he tried desperately to reconnect to his wife, a time when he was filled with guilt for not being able to love the person he thought was his wife like his own. A time when he pushed himself so hard to give her the intimacy and love she craved, only to find out it was a cruel trick. He had never truly healed. He probably needed to see Dr. Hopper, but he had resisted such a thing for years. He had assured Regina he had worked it out himself. And he had, mostly. As long as he didn't spend any time with Zelena.

He hasn't said anything yet – hasn't found the words to respond to his daughter, when she presses on.

"Then Dr. Whale said he hopes my hair doesn't get any more red in it, because then I'll remind you of mommy, and that's 'the last thing you need'. Why don't you want me to look like mom?"

Fucking Whale.

"I'm afraid Dr. Whale doesn't know much about anything that isn't medicine," Robin says, ruffling his daughter's hair, and nodding to her as she readies her second arrow, aiming at the target. "Let's not listen to him unless it's about an illness, ok?"

Eliza released the arrow and jumped up as she saw it hit the target. Far from the bullseye, but good nonetheless.

"So you won't be upset if my hair gets more red?"

"No, darling."

"But you don't like my mommy."

He breathed in. "Your mommy hurt me very badly. It was a long time ago, before you were born."

"Did she say she's sorry?"

Oh, to be innocent, when apologies fix everything.

"Yes," Robin admitted, thinking of the many times Zelena had delivered a heartfelt apology, both in written form and in person. "Many times she said she's sorry."

"Then you should forgive her!" Eliza said, putting down her bow and looking at Robin with determination in her eyes.

"Remember when Alex pushed you, and you fell down and broke your arm? He said sorry, but you still had a broken arm, and it still hurt. Your mommy hurt me, and she is very sorry. But it still hurts me. "

"What did she do?" Eliza asked, and he had anticipated, surely anticipated, her asking, but now that she did he was at a loss. She was young, far too young, to understand what Zelena did to him.

"I'm afraid that's something I should keep between me and your mommy" he said after a long pause, earning a scowl from Eliza.

Eliza sighed. "I want her to take me to school, you and both my mommies." She said, eyes piercing at Robin, as if she was daring him to turn her down.

It wasn't too much to ask. But his daughter could almost ask anything of him and he'd do it.

"Alright" he said. "I'll try to be better with your mommy, ok?" He knew if Regina were here she'd tell him he was already far more accommodating than he need be. He She'd have some magical way to explain everything to Eliza and make her understand she was asking too much – without ruining her relationship with Zelena. He knew, he knew. But he was standing there, and his daughter just wanted her family together for one day, and he wouldn't deny her that because his old wounds weren't quite healing. Regina had forgiven her, and he should learn to follow in his wife's footsteps.

Eliza nodded, smiling brightly. And then she cocked her head, her eyes focused on something behind him. She walked over to a bush with red berries she hadn't seen before. "What's that?" she asked, pointing towards the bush.

And with that, the very difficult conversation Robin had hoped he wouldn't have for years was over.

When they got back home he'd speak to Regina, and maybe he'd make that appointment with Dr. Hopper. He deserved to give it a chance. For his daughter's sake.


	3. Regina

It seemed fitting to Regina that the one child that she was actually biologically related to would look nothing like her. It had been years since Roland began to call her "momma", with a tentative look at his father, who nodded with approval. The few times they ventured outside of Storybrooke people assumed she was his biological mother all-too-easily. Roland looked a great deal like her, purely by coincidence. Henry at least had a similar complexion, dark eyes and hair, with light skin.

But Eliza was the one child who took after her papa. She had her father's complexion, her father's blue eyes, and her hair….was mostly blonde, with beautiful hints of red in it. Regina was always telling her, though, she had "Mills" hair, and it reminded Regina of her hair not in color but in its texture. She was blessed with strong, thick locks, hair that framed her face perfectly, hair that required careful braiding when she was a child, for the hair was so thick it easily became knotted and tangled up in anything, and hiking trips with daddy already had her coming back with sticks and leaves and dirt in her hair, even with the braids Regina insisted on giving her. Without them, her hair would wind up a tangled mess in whatever tree sap or mud she'd somehow lather herself in during her time in the forest, and Regina would spend much of the night gently detangling her hair, occasionally needing olive oil to rub in her hair to remove some of the items that would stick to her daughter's beautiful hair.

She was getting older, now, and it had been a few years since Regina needed to remove half the forest from her hair. She was more careful now, and less likely to get dirty. She was becoming a teenager.

Eliza had asked her mom to come home early from work today, begging her and telling her it was important, without explanation. She was sniffling, and sounded scared. With everything that went on in Storybrooke, Regina had no idea what to expect, so she hurriedly poofed herself home, finding Eliza sitting at the kitchen table, hands on either side of her forehead, tears in her eyes.

"Eliza?" Regina called out, "Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

Eliza was holding a glass, half filled with water. She continued to stroke the glass, nervously, but did not respond for quite some time.

"Eliza, whatever has happened you can tell me."

Eliza nodded. "I'll….I can show you."

She placed the glass on the other end of the table and sat back down. She took a big breath in, and the glass moved. Right into her hands.

And then the sobbing started.

"You have magic," Regina said, stating the obvious, completely unsurprised. "Sweetheart I will teach you everything about it, how to control it, how to use it, how to suppress it, it's going to be okay, I promise. There's no need to cry."

Eliza lifted her head and looked at her. "But I didn't get my magic from you." She said, fearful and desperate. "I got it from _her._ _Her_ type of magic is inside me, don't you understand?"

Eliza had learned the truth about Zelena earlier this year, and while the woman was still her mother, she was old enough to understand that she was not the product of true love, that what Zelena had done to her father was wrong. And while she was a better person now and Eiza knew that, she also knew that Zelena's magic was strong, powerful, and evil.

For years Regina's magic had only been light, and Rumple had admitted to her that the reason she was never as good a student as her sister was that dark magic did not come naturally to her. People were instinctually drawn to light magic or dark magic, and Regina was drawn to light magic. It was just part of her chemistry. Zelena, on the other hand, was drawn to dark magic.

"Zelena and I shared the same mother. Just because you got your magic from your mother doesn't mean you will be enchanted by dark magic. I won't let that happen."

Eliza looked down at the table, her eyes never meeting Regina's. "Did you know?" she asked, "Did you already know I had magic?"

Regina sat down next to her and placed an arm around her daughter. "I could feel it inside of you. But magic doesn't always manifest itself. It was there all along, but I didn't know whether you would tap into it. I certainly didn't expect it to come out so early in your life. What happened, how did you notice you had it?"

Eliza sighed. "I was late to class and I couldn't get my locker open. The lock kept jamming. And I was just thinking I wish I could just get this lock off the door…and then it happened."

"What happened?"

"The lock flew off the locker and flew across the hall. No one was in the halls because I was late. I just, I tried to magic it back together, but I couldn't get it to work. I need to find a way to stop it, control it, so it doesn't happen again. It could have hurt someone."

"But it didn't" Regina pulled her daughter into a hug. "It's not your fault. There are some easy fixes I can teach you to avoid this. Breathing exercises, calming techniques. You have a Mills family temper and Mills family patience, so we'll have to work on that. But you're a powerful, strong girl. You are powerful enough to control the magic inside of you."

Eliza sniffled against her mother's shoulders for a few minutes, and slowly her breathing became easier, the tears subsiding, until she let out, in a whisper, what she must have been most afraid of.

"I'm scared of what dad will think of me."

Her daughter always had a special bond with her father, the two of them were practically inseparable between her toddler years and pre-teen years. She was a daddy's girl, and she inherited her distrust of magic from her father. This had to be hard on her.

"Your father is going to be proud of you" she said soothingly.

"Proud of me? For having magic? For having something _she_ gave me?" Even in her state, Eliza still has that fire in her, it appears, and she's drawing upon it now. "Mom, there's nothing to be proud of here. I was born with something, something that could hurt people. I wish I never had it at all! He shouldn't be proud of me!" She makes eye contact with her mother, as if willing to fight over this, willing to prove her mother wrong for this absurd opinion.

Regina can't help but smile as she shakes her head. "He is going to be proud of how you came to me, how you know you have to control this magic. Another child might be excited about the power and forget about the danger. It's a very unique ability. Henry wished for magic, at one time, and I don't doubt Roland had a similar wish. You have it, but you respect it, understand magic for what it is, a powerful gift you must learn to control." She smiled at her daughter, wrapping her arms around her tight. "Your father won't fear you or withdraw from you because you have magic. He purposely surrounds himself with strong, powerful women. You are one of those women. Don't ever forget that."

She tells her father that night, after dinner, when Henry is off at the movies with Grace, and Roland is upstairs playing video games, and it's just the three of them, Robin and the two most important women in his life.

When she shows him her ability, she swears she will spend every free moment learning about magic, about how to control it and not use it unless it is necessary, promises she will try not to hurt anyone.

She doesn't dare to meet his eyes all this time, too afraid to see fear and hatred in them. But he's drawing her into a hug in the middle of her babbling, wiping her tears away, telling her "I'm so proud of you. You are so perfect, you know that?"

She glances at her mother from over her father's shoulder. Regina smiles at her daughter smugly. "See, I told you so."

Regina thinks back to the first time she knew she had magic, how she had shared the same fear that she would also become her mother, the same fear of hurting anyone. If her life were different, had she had the right parents, Regina's relationship with magic would have been so different, so much healthier. She promises herself she will give Eliza this – a knowledge and understanding of the gift inside her, her beautiful daughter who looks nothing like her, but resembles her in so many ways just the same.


	4. Snow

It's odd, how comfortable and natural being a mother comes to Regina. Snow knows she shouldn't be surprised, she was a natural with Henry, she's a great….something to Neal (godparent? Grandmother?), and then there the connection Regina had with Roland, the affection she felt for him almost immediately - undoubtedly had made her closer to Robin during their early relationship, and it strengthened their reconciliation every time each time Regina and Robin were reunited after being pulled apart.

Regina was a natural parent, she developed wonderful bonds with children. With all children, it seemed, except her.

Snow knows, realistically, why things were different with her. It's hard to take on the role of a mother at eighteen, especially to a ten year old, and it was understandable she couldn't love her then. Regina couldn't love her then, not as the young queen, not when her heart was shattered and her mind was corrupted with thoughts of revenge. She couldn't love her then and be the amazing mother she was clearly born to be when she was forced into a loveless marriage to a man who never cared about her happiness or comfort. She couldn't love her then when Snow unintentionally caused her all of this immeasurable pain.

But now, Regina has changed, she's no longer the bitter woman she once was, because Regina does not blame Eliza for any of the pain she unintentionally caused. Eliza, who's biological mother was as terrible and threatening to Regina as Snow's father had ever been. Eliza, who's very existence tied Regina's soulmate to a dangerous witch. Eliza, the reason Zelena could not be fought in Camelot, the reason they had to go to the underworld, the reason Regina had to face her old demons, the reason Regina still has nightmares, if what Henry tells Snow is true.

Regina doesn't hold even a single negative thought towards Eliza, instead, she only loves her. Loves her, purely and innocently and obviously. It's a blatant, selfless, overwhelming, in-your-face kind of love, and Snow would be lying if she wasn't a bit jealous.

They had come a long way since Regina had tried to kill her, dedicated her life to destroying he happiness, a long way since Regina looked at Snow and saw the cause of her misery. Snow could see Regina cared for her. But begrudgingly so. As if she was ashamed of it, as if she wished she didn't. She loved her with rolled eyes and sarcastic comments. She loved her with a stolen, heartfelt looks that were few and far between and always covered up immediately.

It shouldn't bother her. She knows Regina's heart. She shouldn't need the extra validation from a woman who has already put her life on the line for her on several occasions. But still, Snow watches Regina with Eliza and feels herself reverting back to that ten year old child who always felt undeserving of Regina's affection, for reasons she couldn't quite understand at the time. And part of her wishes she could experience the type of love Regina shows Eliza, even if it's utterly pathetic to be jealous of an infant.

She curses herself for being so jealous when she receives a call from Regina one spring day.

She sounds uncharacteristically frantic, very unlike the mayor, and it surprises her. "Snow, are you able to watch Roland for me? Robin's at work and I need to take Eliza to a doctor...emergency room…it's urgent."

There are a thousand questions Snow has but she knows questions aren't what Regina needs right now.

"I'm on my way." and she's over not 7 minutes later. Regina opens the door the second she parks her car, Eliza already in her carseat. "Roland's watching TV. Cook whatever you like for lunch – there's money on the table if you want to order a pizza. Henry is out with Emma, they should be home soon. He can watch Roland at that point if I'm not back."

"Regina, what's wrong with her?" Snow has brought Neal with her, and Regina had expected it of course, but now that she's faced with it she isn't quite sure this was a good idea, because Eliza may be contagious.

"Don't let Neal get too close. She's got a really high fever, won't take any fluids, all she wants to do is sleep." Regina looks down at the sleeping baby, "I prefer my sick babies screaming and inconsolable. This concerns me."

Snow cannot agree more. "Keep me updated, Regina. Let me know if you need anything." Regina barely acknowledges her as she leaves the house, baby in hand.

Snow spends two hours of coloring and watching Roland play video games, two hours of telling herself not to worry, two hours of reminding herself that Regina is a powerful sorceress who, if need be, will come up with a cure for whatever is ailing Eliza. It's two hours of assuring herself everything will be okay until Regina calls her.

"Bacterial pneumonia" she says a soon as Snow answers the phone. "It came fast, made her lethargic and dehydrated. She was sleeping a lot before her fever spiked, so we didn't notice it because she wasn't crying. But she's being treated now and they are giving her fluids."

"Thank god" breathed Snow. "Roland has been asking for you. What should I tell him?"

"Could you—could you bring him to the hospital so we can explain ourselves?"

Of course she can.

Robin is already there when Snow arrives with a confused and angry Roland, who demands to see his baby sister, because she doesn't like hospitals, and as the big brother, he knows this for a fact. Robin takes him aside, leaving Regina with Snow and Neal in the hallways of the hospital ward.

"Are you ok, Regina?"

She doesn't look well. She looks like she might have been crying, but of course she won't admit to being a wreck, she won't admit to anything that makes her look weak.

"I'm fine" Regina says, "I bit tired, it was hectic there for a second. It's a strong strand of pneumonia, she was so dehydrated so quickly. She was sniffling yesterday but we didn't think much of it. When I find out which idiot came over to our house sick and gave this to her….that person is going to wish I would kill them."

Snow laughed, covering her hand over Regina's with a soft squeeze. "But she's going to be okay?"

Regina nodded. "Thank goodness for modern medicine. I'd rather not relive illnesses in the Enchanted Forest- like that one you had."

Snow could remember no illness. "What are you talking about? Illness?"

Regina rolled her eyes. "You don't remember? Less than six months into my marriage, you fell ill. You were out of it for nearly a month. Nearly died. It was an infection of some sort, the healers were utterly useless. The magic I had learned up to that point proved useless too."

Snow searched her mind until she recalled a memory of being in an all-white room, healers in and out of the room, but it's faint, fuzzy, as if she couldn't separate it from a dream.

Regina sighed. "I hated you, wanted you to suffer for what you did to me, I couldn't help but believe I had caused it to happen." She laughed then, a dark laugh, "I didn't want you to die, I hadn't enough lessons with Rumple to make peace with being a murderer." She's looking down at her pants now, smoothing invisible wrinkles (or is it brushing off invisible crumbs?) up and down her thighs. "You terrified me. I spent most of Henry's young life watching for signs of whatever hell you had, but he was always healthy. When this happened to Eliza I couldn't help but think she had what you had. But she's going to be okay. There are antibiotics here, and IV fluids. Better than any magical potion, because we already know the side effects. Magic was too unpredictable."

Snow was clinging on to the few memories she had of that time. "It's weird, I can't remember much at all about that time….I had completely forgotten about it."

"You were unconscious for much of it. It's good you don't remember." Regina shrugged, "I wish I didn't remember it, to be honest. To have to go through that again would be the worst type of torture. But I was able to mix some sort of potion that seemed to help – it wasn't a cure though. I'm sure I'd have been able to spare you much more pain if Rumple had ever bothered to teach me healing magic."

"You cared about me" Snow said with a wry smile.

Regina sighed "Of course I did, you idiot. Did you not listen to the story?"

"You loved me." She pressed on.

Regina rolled her eyes. "I spent years trying to kill you, remember that."

"You also saved my life, apparently."

"I was an idiot teenager."

 _A teenager,_ Snow thinks. A teenager with an abusive mother, a powerless father, a teenager turned into queen and a mother and wife. A teenager who at least at one point, despite everything, took her role as a mother very seriously.

"I love you too, Regina"

Maybe Regina could only bare to show her love in this way, but it was unique and special in its own right, and Snow knew there was no need to be jealous of Eliza anymore. She smiled at Regina, who for a moment, looked at a loss for words. But it was only a moment.

"Shut up, Snow."


	5. Maleficent

It's three thirty n the fucking morning, and someone has decided to call Mal on the infernal device Regina insist she keep with her "in case of emergencies".

Well it better be an emergency of epic proportions because no one interrupted Mal's sleep and got away with it.

"This better be good" she mutters into the phone

"Aunt Mal?" Eliza's voice is a bit timid, very unlike her, and Mal's mood instantly changes from angry bitch to semi-concerned aunt. "Um, remember when you said you were the kind of aunt that I could call to bail me out of jail?

"I do." Mal groaned. Eliza's words were slow and careful, yet she detected the hint of slurring. She was probably out drinking.

"Well…I kind of need you to bail me out of another situation."

Mal sighs.

"Where are you?"

There's a pause and then she finally breathes it. "Top of the clocktower. Like, the very top."

Mal couldn't help but laugh as Eliza cut in "Please, I'm scared, you can laugh at me after you get me!"

It took a second to get her in a dragon form, taking her from the rounded top of the click tower, where she sat, clutching the spire of the building. She looked pathetic. Pathetic and drunk, dressed in clothes Regina would never approve of. Just great.

She flew right under her god daughter's shaking form and waited for Eliza to release the spire and carefully drop down on her back. It appeared Eliza wasn't so good with heights. She's careful and slow at releasing the spire and then as soon as she drops on Mal's back she's clutching her tightly enough to cut off circulation, her body still shaking.

They haven't discussed where Eliza was going, so Mal takes her back to her home, setting her down and transforming back into her human form.

"Where does your mother think you are? She asked, going to the kitchen to make tea.

Eliza is rubbing her head, makes her way to the couch with short, stumbly movements. Oh god, this wasn't good.

"Mom thinks I'm at Anastasia's for the night."

"Where did you actually go? Before the clocktower, that is?"

"I was at William's party." She says. William, the boy was a senior in high school, a bit of a troublemaker in town.

"I'm assuming William's parents weren't chaperoning this party?"

Eliza shook her head. "Someone must have called in a noise complaint, cuz the cops showed up. And then I was like "no big deal, I'll just poof myself home before David sees me!" So I did, but I mean, I had a magic malfunction and it didn't quite take me home."

"We don't drink and poof, dear. Your magic isn't going to work well when you are drunk."

"I'm not drunk!" Eliza insists, and Mal laughs.

"You're going to drink some of this tea and then you are going to take a shower, because you smell like cheap liquor and desperate teenage boys. By the way, where's your buddy?"

"What do you mean 'my buddy'"? Eliza is sitting on the couch now, rocking back and forth a bit. If she pukes on her good rug Mal is going to bring her right back to Regina on the spot and let Eliza suffer the consequences. But while she has her, she might as well teach her to not be as much of an idiot next time.

"I mean the person you look out for when you go out, the person who looks out for you to make sure you don't end up on top of a god damned clock tower at the end of the night. Where's your buddy?"

She's hit a nerve, she can tell, because Eliza looks angry, as angry as she is capable of looking. She looks young for sixteen, and she's tiny, a little pixy. Her big blue eyes always make her look innocent and sweet, and when her temper flares up she looks more cute than threatening, something that always amuses Mal.

"I don't _need_ a buddy. I'm the daughter of Regina Mills and Robin Hood…and fucking Zelena. And I have magic. No one would mess with me." There's a pause and she adds, "everyone's afraid of me." Another pause and "No one would dare to even touch me."

The way she says that last line is so sad and almost wistful. And shit, this is about a boy. But Mal's not going to go there now, because what Eliza just said was already stupid enough.

"I refuse to believe you really think that" Mal said, bringing a cup of tea to her, sitting down next to her on the couch. "Otherwise Regina has raised an idiot."

Eliza's cheeks flare red with anger. "What in the hell do you mean?"

"You've got magic, your parents are some of the most important people in town. You're a target, Eliza. I woulda thought you would know that by now. How many times have you almost been kidnapped, or actually have _been_ kidnapped? I mean Jesus Christ, think it through."

"Fine, random magical villain's aside, since word got out that I have magic, everyone at school is scared of me. None of them will even get close to me. It's like I have the plague."

Mal chuckles bitterly. "Oh, I wish that were true, Eliza."

"It is absolutely true." Eliza puts her head in hands and groans "God the room is spinning."

Mal takes out two capsules from her purse. "I've got a cure for that. Take these with your tea dear."

Eliza looks down at the two pills in front of her. "Advil and Tylenol together?"

"I've experimented enough to know it's the best combination" Mal said lightly, "trust me. Now drink your tea. And just tell me what boy or girl had you losing all your good judgment tonight."

"What makes you think this has to do with a crush?" she spat back.

"The fact that you are incredibly defensive makes it pretty obvious. Go on, tell me."

"Well if I _did_ like anyone I'd be shit out of luck" Eliza says, "I mean, when we played truth or dare in middle school and people were dared to kiss me? They'd always joke about how they didn't have a death wish. It was a real dare, who was brave enough to kiss the evil queen's daughter? And now, I go to a party and I'm dressed…"

"Like a cocktail waitress at a strip club?" Mal finishes for her.

She's dressing a miniskirt and a low cut halter top with a bit too much makeup on (Eliza honestly needs no makeup at all, she's gorgeous, and it's frustrating to Mal to even see her with all that gunk on).

"Whatever, I'm dressed up and no one even gives me a second look. And then I overhear Tom and Will talking, and Will asks if Tom if he's interested in me, and he says "hell no, I'm not interested in being turned into a toad every time it's that time of the month, and…"

She stops when Mal laughs.

"It's not funny!" Eliza shoots her a frustrated look, but she's still a bit drunk, still a bit off balance, and she sounds more whiny than angry.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry you are missing out on these obviously wonderful grade-A catches, they sound like real princes. For fucks sake, Eliza, aren't you glad men like that are scared of you? At best they'd be a terrible bore."

"It's not just Will and Tom, it's ALL the guys."

"None of those boys are worthy of you anyway, so fuck it, wait a few years for one of them to grow up enough to be able to handle you."

Eliza sighed. "No, it's not going to change. It'll always be like this."

Mal chuckles. "Your mother was a great and powerful sorceress who burned villages and destroyed lives, and your father didn't let that scare him away."

Eliza rolled her eyes. "Great, so if I happen to find my soulmate in the small town of Storybrooke, I'll be fine."

Mal shook her head. "You're a beautiful girl, and you're powerful, and smart, and athletic. The right boy won't be intimidated by that. But right now most high school boys are terrified of being emasculated because let's face it, they barely qualify as men at this age. Give them time to grow up and get over themselves."

"I'm the only one of my friends to not get asked to the homecoming dance" she muttered, taking a deep swallow of the last of the tea.

Mal sighed, "And who were you hoping would ask you?"

Eliza shrugs. "No one in particular, it just would have been nice to finally be asked to one of these things."

"Well you are just going to deal with the fact you don't get asked to dances, you're too busy slaying monsters and going on quests to save the town. Many people won't understand you, and many will fear you. It comes with the territory. Get used to it and stop feeling sorry for yourself."

Eliza rolls her eyes. "Easy for _you_ to say."

"It is easy for me to say, you don't think I went through the same thing, only a hundred times worse? And your mother? What did being special cost her, do you think? You have something we never had – a family to support you through this. Now you're going to rest right here on this couch. And if you feel the need to throw up, you're going to spend the night in my bathroom. That clear?

Eliza sleeps that night, considering Mal's words. She was denied a lot of the normal teenage experiences, and she felt isolated from her peers, but she had more family than she knew what to do with, and they all loved her unconditionally. And that was worth more than any boy or teenage romance.


	6. Henry

**TW: reference to rape**

Henry had caught a flight to Maine last minute for his mother's birthday. He had finished an assignment early, affording him time he didn't think he'd have. He had intended to sneak into his house undetected and surprise his mom when she got home.

He had assumed he'd walk into an empty house, when he heard the tv in the living room on, and Eliza curled up on the couch. He recognized the sound coming from the tv immediately. It was that movie.

That god damned movie.

"Eliza?" he called out, expecting Eliza to throw her arms around him like she usually did when she saw her big brother. Instead she looked up from the couch almost….angry. "Hi Henry. What are you doing here?"

"Surprising mom for her birthday. What are you doing home?" he walks over to the couch and ruffles her hair with his hand. "Home sick?"

"I decided to take a half day from school today." Eliza says, her eyes focused on the movie.

"Uhh, why?"

Eliza looks up at him now, her faced blushed red and her eyebrows knitted together, as if she were ready for a fight. "Good question. Well, today I found out that my mom killed Roland's mom, just to mess with our mom, and let's see, oh! And my mom raped my father. And that's how I was made. So I dunno, under the circumstances…."

Shit. Henry winces.

"Oh and by the way you're looking at me I'm assuming you already knew. But you know, that's fine, everyone in town knew except for me, apparently. I think it's great that I get to learn about who my mother is from Aurora and Mulan's son. Just great."

"Philip told you this? I'm going to kill him."

"He has two mothers, and I have two mothers, so I thought we weren't too different, but apparently his mother didn't rape his father to get pregnant. So you know, he wins in that department."

"Eliza…"

"I mean you were all so careful when it came to telling me of how evil Regina used to be, but when it came to Zelena it was all 'she used to struggle with evil too'. Struggle with evil? She tried to kill the entire town and the only reason I'm on this earth is because she….pretended to be Roland's mother. That's sick, Henry. And someone should have told me."

"We were going to tell you, before you started high school."

 _"High school?_ You were going to wait another two years before telling me?"

"It's pretty adult stuff, you seemed a bit too young."

"I've had sex ed, I know how babies are made."

"I know, but the whole thing could be hard to process."

"What, the fact that I'm the product of rape?"

Henry sighs, wishing he had the magic ability to summon his mother at that moment, because there's nothing he can think to say to alleviate Eliza's anger.

There's a silence between them, with only the song from the tv coming on.

"Just you wait, Henr Higgins, just you wait!  
You'll be sorry but your tears 'll be to late  
You'll be broke and I'll have money  
Will I help you? Don't be funny  
Just you wait, Henry Higgins, just you wait!

"God, remember this?" he asked, nodding his head to the tv, lost in nostalgia for a second.

As a toddler, it was Eliza's favorite movie. Every time the movie came on she asked to rewatch the "Just You Wait" song over and over again. Afterall, it was a character named Eliza singing to a character named Henry. And it might have been cute the first time Eliza sang that song to him, and Henry made the mistake of singing back with her. But then she expected his performance every time the song came on, and it got old quick. It was old by the time she was singing loudly, bouncing on the couch, while Henry sat on the couch, determined to ignore her, causing her to eventually grab his attention by screaming "Just you wait, Henry Higgins!" while she hit the top of his head with a Bernstein bear book.

 _"You know she's a four year old girl and her favorite song in the world is about murdering a person named Henry. We should probably be a little worried about that." Henry had mentioned to his mom one time, but Regina had only laughed._

 _"She loves you, Henry. She looks up to you. Just let her have her way and watch this with her again, please, Henry?_

"Of course I remember this movie" she mutters, "I know, I was super annoying about it as a kid."

"You were. You must have made me watch this movie a thousand times. Drove me crazy. But you were cute as hell. I'd have watched it a thousand times more for you."

Eliza rolled her eyes. "Gee thanks, you won't tell me the truth about who I am my entire life, but you'll gladly watch a movie you hate to make me happy. Thanks."

"My point is, I'm glad you're here. I'm glad you're my sister. I don't give a shit how you got here. I'm just glad you are here."

Eliza is quiet, as if weighing his words and determining whether or not to believe him.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Honestly? I think everyone was afraid you'd hate yourself. I mean, you were pretty observant. You could tell Robin couldn't be around Zelena at a real young age. Asked all sorts of questions about it. Robin didn't want you to think that you know, he blamed you or thought less of you. And he thought maybe you'd understand when you were older."

"My mom didn't want me to know because she thought I'd hate her, I'd assume."

"Zelena? Zelena is the only one who wanted you to know earlier. I think she just wanted to get it out into the open as soon as possible and make sure you knew no one regretted you being born, even if they all regretted that it happened that way. She's been afraid of this day for…since forever. Wanted to be the one to tell you – she has a whole speech planned. I think she wrote you a letter about it too at one point. Once she changed – truly changed – she was pretty worried about you."

Eliza looked down. "How does dad, how does he even…like, how does he even look at me?"

Henry shook his head, "Don't go there. You're going to hurt him if you go there, okay? He never saw you and thought of how you were made. He just never did. He said it doesn't work that way."

"I look just like her." She says, her eyes wandering to the tv, afraid to meet Henry's. "I look just like her, and he can barely even look her in the eyes."

"Do you have one memory – even one memory – where your dad looked upset to be around you?"

Eliza thought back. Truly, she'd been a daddy's girl her whole life. And Robin had doted on her. She couldn't even recall a moment where he looked unhappy to see her.

Her silence was the answer.

"See? He loves you."

Eliza shrugged. "I'm still mad at you all for keeping this from me."

"I know, we were idiots and we didn't think anyone your age would know about it or talk about it. And I'm going to talk to Mulan and Aurora, because Phil was way the fuck out of line and they raised him better."

"Phil just used me as an example in debate class when we were arguing on abortion. We had to argue that abortion should be illegal in every circumstance, even in cases of rape, so he asked me if we should bring me up, and say, "hey, Eliza was born due to a rape, and I'm glad no one aborted her." He suggested the argument to me and then immediately realized I didn't know. He felt really bad about it, Henry. He looked like he was about to throw up. I'm pretty sure he's terrified mom is going to kill him."

Henry sighed. "Why are you debating abortion in seventh grade?"

"Because we're in the gifted class and we're expected to handle mature topics, Henry" she says, clearly imitating her teacher in a mocking tone.

Henry chuckled. "Alright. My guess is after mom finds out, that will be off the curriculum indefinitely"

He settles himself down on the couch next to his sister, his eyes on the movie that plagued much of his teenage years.

"I still have a lot of questions" Eliza whispers silently, minutes later.

"I know. Mom and dad will answer them. Both your moms. And if they refuse to answer, I'll make them tell you, okay? You're right. You deserve to know about this. You can handle it."

"Thanks Henry." Eliza grabs the remote from his hands quickly.

"Now that you're here we're going to watch this movie from the start."

Henry groaned in protest but didn't move from his seat on the couch. He'd endure anything for his sister.


	7. The Talk

**I wrote this before, and it's more OQ than Peanut, but it's about her and here seemed like a good place to put it.**

There was supposed to be time. There was supposed to be at least a few moments, preferably after this Camelot mess was away and done with, where there was a moment of stillness in Storybrooke, where Regina wouldn't be consumed with guilt and worry over Emma. Just a moment where they could focus on them, on how to move forward from this messy, complicated situation.

Robin stares into his whiskey, before rubbing his eyes, trying to ffocus on what to do now.

Because now he has been robbed of that time. Now Zelena appears to be in labor.

He got the call a few minutes ago, yet he hasn't been able to tear himself away from his seat at granny's.

It's his child that's being born. A child he cannot wait to see, raise, protect. A child he already loves And he has all the support in the world, everyone will be by his side for this moment if he only would ask. Regina will be there without him having to ask.

He knows this. But he doesn't want to see her. Can't imagine what torture she will put him through while she's in labor. She could continue to taunt him, remind him of his unwilling part in this child's life, of the nights that once held hope and now were vile, dark memories. Dark memories that he would never completely be able to regret, because they resulted in his child.

Would he look at this new child and be haunted by nightmares of living with her mother?

Would he be able to love this new child as much as he loves Roland? Would he see _her_ everytiem he looked at this new child? And if that did happen, what did that say about him, blaming an innocent life for the crimes of its mother?

There was supposed to be time to work this out. Time had been stolen from him, and as good as a thief he may be, he couldn't rob it back.

He swallowed the last of his whiskey, Sent a text to John to let him know not to bother showing up for a drink afterall - he had to be on his way. "Something" came up. He wasn't ready to tell John his child was being born. As if writing the words would somehow make it more real.

In a daze, he makes his way to the hospital. He's only had one drink, but he feels fuzzy, as if he were in a dreamlike state, as if all of this isn't real. Doctors and nurses speak to him, direct him wear to go, and he hardly hears them, following their directions as if in a trance. the nurses pointing towards an elevator, one held up three fingers, and Robin nodded, pressing the button to the third floor, his mouth dry, his legs moving of their own accord, feeling heavy and foriegn to him.

She's there, standing outside a room, phone in hand. Probably about to call him again and see where he was. She looks up and smiles at him, and god she's beautiful, beautiful and warm and comforting, and dear god he doesn't deserve her.

"Robin, I was worried when I didn't hear back, Zelena's ok, everything's stable. The contractions are–"

But he's rushed toward her and pulled her into a needy, desperate hug that takes her breath away.

She's pulling him away from the room now, moving him with her.

"Come here for a second."

"I-I have to go in there…"

"It will just be a moment" she promises, and her eyes are warm and soothing, and oh, how he just wants to melt into her and soak up every ounce of comfort she can give him right now.

And is it even fair for him to be soothed and comforted when this situation can't be easy on Regina either?

But he lets her lead him into a small empty waiting room, she closes the door and motions him onto a small couch, he sits down, adn she's next to him.

"Robin" her fingers are soothing circles over his arm, small patterns that are battling the anxiety, the turmoil going through his mind right now. "Talk to me."

He shakes his head. "There's no time, I have to –" he goes to get up, and she pulls him back. He doesn't fight her. He doesn't want to leave. His head falls on her shoulder again.

He breathes into the nape of her neck, inhaling her scent and it's like a smelling salt, waking him up and calming him at the same time. "There was supposed to be more time." he chokes out.

"I know" Regina responds, her voice full of sympathy. "But there'd never be enough time to deal with this, anyway."

"What if I can't stand the sight of my own child?" he asks, and he cringes at hearing his fear finally vocalized, moving away from her now, his eyes down focused on his lap, too terrified to even look at Regina's reaction.

"Robin….you don't. I see how you look at the ultrasound. You already love that child. There's plenty of real things to be afraid about. Don't waste your energy on irrational fears."

"And you– you won't…" He pauses, afraid he will insult her, but needing her to confirm his fears are irrational yet again. He doesn't want her to hate his child, to blame her. But he can't vocalize that fear yet. He takes a deep breath, shaking his head and looking down at his hand, now entangled with her own. "Are you alright?"

"Robin, I'm fine. I love every part of you, and this child is a part of you. Circumstances are…unfortunate. But you are a great father. And I know you wanted more children. "

He takes a deep breath in, willing himself not to break down at a moment where he's supposed to be there for his new child.

"I can't do this alone" he says, and it's a weak confession to a person who always seems to do everything on her own, and he feels once again rotten and unworthy next to her.

"Well it's a good thing you won't have to." Regina responds immediately, her free hand lifts to his head, running her fingers through his hair. "I'm here. for whatever you need."

He shakes his head. "It's not fair for you, for me to be unloading everything on you. She hurt you too, _I_ hurt you too, and you can't tell me this situation doesn't cause you pain because I've seen it, I should have talked to you about it earlier, I just thought…"

"You thought we'd have more time" she finishes for him, and he nods. She smiles "I understand. And why don't you let me decide what I can and cannot handle. I'm asking you to let me help you."

Self-loathing and regret fill him, he doesn't feel like he deserves her understanding in this moment. "You also deserve to know, to know that I knew something was wrong, something was off. I tried to move on with her anyway. And that's my fault, I shouldn't have…"

Regina shakes her head, smiling, her hand flies over his lips to silence him. "Don't you dare blame yourself for anything. We agreed to you moving on. I didn't think I'd ever see you again. I would have wanted you to try to be happy. I would have wanted you to fall back in love with her, if it were truly her." She wants to stop herself, but the words tumble out. "And truly, this entire situation is my fault, I'm the reason you ever lost Marian to begin with."

And there it is. She's still blaming herself, and it's not her fault. And he can't have that. He shakes his head. "I've told you I've worked through that. You're not that person. You're the person who's saved, countless times, and I wish I had a moment to explain what you've meant these past few weeks, but I…"

"Let's focus on you now." She brushed back the compliments, feeling unworthy, uncomfortable of such praise under the circumstances. "You're going to be a father again, soon. No one would blame you if you didn't want to be in there right now, with _her._ I will be in there, I will bring the baby do you the second she enters the world." She could push her pain, her jealousy aside for him. It's not the time for her right now, and she knows, a part of her knows, that this is the right thing to do.

"No" Robin says, shaking his head. I want to be there. I just…" he took in a breath. "I need you there too. And it can't be easy for you–but I just need to ask–"

Regina rested her hand on him reassuringly, looking into his eyes with a warm smile. "You've got me. You don't need to ask."

He pulls her into a hug, breathing into her hair. "Thank you" he says, quietly.

"There's no need to thank me. You have given me…so much more than you know." Regina smiled, her hand caressing his cheek.

For a moment there's a comforting silence, where he finds solace just looking into her eyes.

She waits until the last of that oppressive tension dies from his muscles, til his eyes seem to soften.

"Ready?" Regina asks, standing and holding out her hand. He's not sure he is, but he follows her anyway, into the room where the woman who tortured him in so many different ways awaits.

The next hours aren't easy. Zelena is miserable, more than ever. She threatens and lashes out, makes short, clipped references to their moments together in New York as the contractions become more painful (Robin cannot help but say a silent thank you to the child for not going easy on Zelena). By all accounts, Zelena is acting as badly as he feared, as badly as she could act without her magic.

But it's not the nightmare he envisioned, as Regina's presence is a soothing balm for the pain she tries to inflict, and her words barely register with him.

It's all worth it the moment he sees his daughter, hears her loud cries. The doctors say she's strong, despite what she's been through in Zelena's womb, despite what caused her to so rapidly grow, she's made it out in perfectly healthy. The moment he holds her, in his arms, and she quiets and coos against his chest, that's the moment he knows. His daughter is resilient. And why wouldn't she be? She's a Mills, afterall.

He doesn't see Zelena in his daughter, as he'd feared. He chuckles at the absurdity, his daughter's hair is clearly light, will be blonde or maybe red, her eyes are...most likely to be blue. But despite all that, it's Regina's eyes he sees looking back at him when he looks down at his tiny daughter.

It's later that he sees Regina holding her, as if it's the most natural thing in the world, his daughter seems to fit against her perfectly, as if she was meant to be her mother. A wave of calm sweeps over Robin as he watches her face, beaming down at his daughter. She looks so happy, so peaceful with her.

Everything is going to work out.

There's so much more to be said between him and Regina. More things to work out for the future. This situation is far from easy. But there is time for that, plenty of it.


	8. Chapter 8

**I fixed chapter 3, Regina. Sorry everyone! My computer has been slow and sucks**. :)


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